ICS reports 25% profits hike

ICS Building Society announced an increase in pre-tax profits of 24.4% to €113.4m today.

Chairman John G Collins told today's AGM that ICS's mortgage book increased by 22% from €4.3bn to €5.2bn in 2005.

ICS Building Society managing director, Mr Joe Larkin, said the outlook for the mortgage market remains very positive and demand so far in 2006 has exceeded expectations. In the first three months of 2006, mortgage applications were up over 23% compared to the same period last year.

“The housing market in 2006 is likely to remain strong resulting in new mortgage lending growth of circa 12% equating to another year of 110,000 new mortgages," Mr Larkin said.

“The continued strong migration into Ireland has been a significant factor in underpinning the Irish housing market, as they buy their own homes and create demand for rental properties. Almost 30% of the population are in the 25–44 year age bracket and the average number of occupants per household is falling to 3.04, in line with the European average. I believe that the market outlook continues to be positive," he added.